Russian gerunds

It is formed from an imperfect verb and denotes an action that is simultaneous with the action of the main verb.

1.   The gerund in the present tense is formed from the third person plural in the present tense by dropping the ending -ут, -ют or -ат, -ят and adding -я or -a to the base. The ending -a is added to the bases ending in -ж, -ч, -ш, -щ.

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The same principle also works for reflexive verbs ending in the suffix -ся, which in the form of a gerund changes to -сь.

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2.   A group of verbs ending in -авать, -ставать, -знавать, form their gerund from the infinitive.

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3.   Current gerunds can sometimes end in -учи or -ючи. This is usually limited to colloquial speech, folk songs, or expressions.

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* In this case the gerund isn’t translated the same way that the verb is. The verb means “to hum”, or “to sing along”.

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4. From a number of verbs it is impossible to form a gerund in the present tense:

• verbs without vowels in their root: ждать / to wait, лгать / to tell lies;
• one syllable words ending with -чь: мочь/ to be able, жечь/ to burn;
• verbs with the suffix -нуть: дунуть / to blow (semelfactive), кивнуть / to nod (semelfactive);
• and several others: бежать / to run, лить / to shed, петь / to sing, пить / to drink, шить / to sew, писать / to write.